Driving Lesson Terms of Business

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE AS YOU WILL BE ASKED TO CONFIRM IN THE TOTAL DRIVE APP THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO THEM - UPDATED 22/04/22I

When booking a driving lesson with Neon Driving School the student (or for under 18’s the parent/guardian of the student) agrees to the following terms and conditions.  The student/parent/guardian is required to agree to these terms of business before commencement of driving lessons. 

Standard Driving School Terms of Business

Before you begin your driving lessons with Neon Driving School, you will be asked to sign a copy of the terms and conditions. Please take the time to read them fully as signing shows your agreement and understanding of the terms and conditions before your driving lessons commence.

For any pupils who are under 18, we require a parent/guardian to sign a copy of the terms and conditions.

Entitlement to Drive

In order to have driving lessons you must:

• Be age� 17 or older (16 or over if disabled)
• Hold a driving licence that is valid for the UK (provisional, full or an appropriate foreign licence)
• It is your responsibility to provide your instructor with proof that you have a valid licence to drive before the commencement of your first driving lesson. 
• If you fail to provide this proof, your instructor is entitled to refuse to conduct the driving lesson but may still charge you for such driving lesson if no notice is given.
• It’s your responsibility to ensure you are fit to drive.
• Inform the instructor of any medical condition, disability or injury that may affect your ability to drive.
• Comply with the eyesight regulation of reading a number plate from 20.5 metres. Where contact lenses or glasses are required, they must be worn for the duration of all driving lessons.
• Where a pupil is unwell or unfit to drive, your driving instructor reserves the right to terminate the driving lesson and the lesson fee must be paid by the pupil in such circumstances.

Behaviour

Neon Driving School will not tolerate any form of verbal or physical abuse, whether directed at themselves, a driving examiner, or any other road user.
Your driving instructor reserves the right to terminate any lesson at any stage should, in their sole opinion they feel that it is inappropriate to continue because of the client’s behaviour, sobriety or state of mind. The lesson fee will be forfeit.

Lesson Fees and Payments

Before the first driving lesson, the client will be supplied with details of tuition fees.

Any alteration of tuition fees will always be notified in advance.

• An invoice will be sent to your email with payment details for your booking.
• All lessons must be paid for either in advance by bank transfer using the invoice number, or at the start of the lesson if paid using cash, credit or payment plans are not offered.
• The 48 hours’ notice cancellation policy is in place regardless of whether payment has been made prior to the lesson. If the pupil has made payment and gives at least 48 hours’ notice, they can request the payment is transferred to another booking or request a full refund. Where payment has not been made in advance and a lesson is cancelled without 48 hours’ notice, full payment will be required for the cancelled lesson before another lesson can be booked.
• Any client booking an intensive course of 2 days or above will be asked to pay in full at least 7 days prior to the course start date. This will be treated as an affirmed booking, and if any of the time booked is cancelled less than 7 days before the first day of the course, the fee will be forfeit.
• All block bookings, courses and gift vouchers must be used in full within 6 months of payment.
• Course and lesson fees do not include any payments required by the DVSA for the Theory Test or the Practical Driving Test. If the pupil requests Neon Driving School to make the booking for such tests, an admin charge of £2.50 will be applied to the booking fee.

Payments may be made by cash or bank transfer.
Where a client falls into arrears with payments, the driving school reserves the right to discontinue tuition until such time as the client’s account is brought up to date, this may include withholding the use of the driving school car for a driving test.

In the event of further action being needed to recover any monies owed, further charges may be made to cover costs and administration. The client will be given written notice of other charges added.

Cancellations

A driving lesson booking made by either phone, text message, email, social media or in person is an agreement that the pupil has requested the time and expertise of the driving instructor for that date and time. By booking such date and time, you are agreeing to give at least 48 hours’ notice, from the commencement of the driving lesson if you wish to change or cancel the driving lesson.

• You must give at least 48 hours’ notice (from the time of the booking) to your driving instructor if you wish to cancel or re-arrange a booked driving lesson.

Failure to do so will result in your instructor charging you the full amount for that driving lesson, payment for the cancelled driving lesson must be paid by bank transfer before any further driving lessons are booked.

• Lessons might sometimes need to be postponed at short notice due to illness, mechanical breakdown or some other emergency or unforeseen occurrence, a mutually agreeable alternative appointment will be made.
• In the event of a “no show”, where the pupil fails to turn up for their driving lesson, full payment will be required before any further driving lessons are booked.
• Where payment for the cancelled driving lesson is not paid within 24 hours, the driving school reserve the right to offer the slot to another pupil.
• If the pupil requests that the driving lesson starts late or finishes early, the full lesson fee applies.

Refunds

When a client pays in advance for lessons, they shall be entitled to a refund at any time of any monies for unused lessons (where at least 48 hours’ notice is given), for accounting purposes this refund will normally be made by the method paid.
When a discount has been given for the prepayment of lessons, and a refund is requested, the lessons taken by the client will be charged at the full single lesson hourly rate, and the balance refunded.

Driving Lesson Etiquette

• You must be ready for your driving lesson at the time and location agreed with your driving instructor at the time of booking. Any changes made by the pupil that result in loss of time from the lesson will not be reimbursed.
• You must arrive for your driving lesson suitably dressed, with suitable shoes that are secure to the feet to ensure safety at all times. Revealing clothing is not acceptable or appropriate for driving lessons.
• Mobile phones must be turned to silent and placed out of sight.
• You may bring a soft drink with you to your driving lesson, and if needed must be consumed only when pulled up at the side of the road and when it is safe to do so.
• Toilet breaks are permitted although form part of the driving lesson if needed.
• If required, pupils may bring someone to accompany them on their driving lesson, this must be agreed with your driving instructor prior to the commencement of the driving lesson.
• Sexual contact, flirting or explicit conversations are not acceptable during driving lessons. The lesson will be terminated and the lesson fee payable in such circumstances.

Change of Vehicle

Tuition vehicles are periodically changed, either sold, or unavailable due to mechanical or other problems.

• If a replacement vehicle will be used for a driving test, the client will be given as much notice as possible, to familiarise with the new vehicle, however, in the case of replacement due to mechanical problems this may not always be possible.

The driving school will not be responsible for any losses (e.g. test fees) if the client chooses to decline these lessons.

Driving tests

Neon Driving School will not accompany candidates to the driving test who are unknown to the driving school. We have a duty of care to the candidate, the examiner and to the public to only present candidates who are fully prepared and at the required standard to take the driving test. 

Driving Tests should not be booked without first ascertaining the availability of your driving instructor and car, and agreement being reached with your driving instructor as to your readiness for the driving test.

• Clients should notify their driving instructor of the time, date and location of their driving test as soon as practicable, and the email must be shown to your driving instructor for verification on the next driving lesson.
• No responsibility will be taken by Neon Driving School for incorrect bookings unless the driving test email is produced.
• No responsibility will be taken by Neon Driving School for driving tests booked when the driving instructor is unavailable.
• In the interests of road safety, Neon Driving School reserves the right to withdraw the use of car for the driving test, when in the driving instructor’s opinion, the client is not at test standard.

Where the use of the driving school car is withheld for a driving test, the driving instructor will where possible give the client sufficient notice to enable them to cancel the test without loss of the test fee, this may not always be possible when the course of tuition is of an intensive nature.

No responsibility will be taken by Neon Driving School for withdrawing the use of car for the driving test when, in their sole discretion the driving instructor assesses the client as not being ready for test.

When a driving test is cancelled due to mechanical failure of the driving school car, illness of the driving instructor or any other reason that is the responsibility of the driving school then the client will be entitled to the cost of their next driving test fee to be paid for by the driving school. Neon Driving School will not be responsible for any additional tuition fees incurred whilst waiting for the next driving test appointment.

Neon Driving School has no control over driving tests cancelled by DVSA.

When a driving test is cancelled by DVSA the full fees due to the driving school for driving lessons and the use of the car for the driving test are still payable in full, unless cancelled in accordance with the normal period of notice.

When DVSA cancel a driving test because there is not an examiner available it can be possible to claim back any losses incurred by the client, including a proportion of lesson fees, this is the responsibility of the client, not the driving school.

When a driving test is cancelled because the client’s documents are not in order the full fees due to the driving school for driving lessons and the use of the car for the driving test are still payable in full, unless cancelled in accordance with the normal period of notice.

Data Protection

Under the Data Protection Act 2018, the driving school will only:

• collect information that they need for a specific purpose
• keep it secure
• ensure it is relevant and up to date

When booking a driving lesson with Neon Driving School you are agreeing to all of the above terms

Neon Driving School - Cookie Policy

At Neon Driving School, we believe in being clear and open about how we collect and use data related to you. In the spirit of transparency, this policy provides detailed information about how and when we use cookies. This cookie policy applies to any product or service that links to this policy or incorporates it by reference.

Does Neon Driving School use cookies?

Yes. We use cookies and other technologies to ensure everyone who uses our services has the best possible experience. Cookies also help us keep your account safe. By continuing to visit or use our services, you are agreeing to the use of cookies and similar technologies for the purposes we describe in this policy.

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small file placed onto your device that enables website features and functionality. For example, cookies enable us to identify your device, secure your access to our site generally, and even help us know if someone attempts to access your account from a different device. Cookies also enable you to easily share content on and help us serve relevant ads to you.

When does Neon Driving School place cookies?

We use cookies on our site and mobile applications. Any browser visiting our site will receive cookies from us. We also place cookies in your browser when you visit a non-Neon Driving School site that hosts plugins (for example, LinkedIn's "Share" button or Twitters share function).

What types of cookies does Neon Driving School use?

We use two types: persistent cookies and session cookies. A persistent cookie helps us recognise you as an existing user, so it's easier to return to or interact with our services without signing in again. After you sign in, a persistent cookie stays in your browser and will be read by your browser when you return to one of our sites or a partner site that uses our services (for example, our sharing or job application buttons). Session cookies only last for as long as the session (usually the current visit to a website or a browser session).

What are cookies used for?

Cookies can be used to recognise you when you visit our website or login, remember your preferences, and give you a personalised experience that's in line with your settings. Cookies also make your interactions with our website faster and more secure. Additionally, cookies allow us to bring you advertising both on and off our website, and bring customised features to you that allow sharing via social media.

How are cookies used for advertising purposes?

Cookies and other ad technology such as beacons, pixels, and tags help us serve relevant ads to you more effectively. They also help us provide aggregated auditing, research, and reporting for advertisers, understand and improve our service, and know when content has been shown to you. Note: Because your web browser may request advertisements and beacons directly from third party ad network servers, these networks can view, edit, or set third party cookies, just as if you had requested a web page from their site. Ads served by our site may also set third party cookies.

Unless you clear these cookies from your browser, we may use this information to:

• provide more relevant, interest-based advertising
• help website and app owners understand how visitors engage with their sites or apps
• detect and defend against fraud and other risks to protect users and partners
• improve our services

We do not provide any personal information that we collect to advertisers unless you have given us permission to do so.

What third-party cookies does Neon Driving School Use?

Please note that the names of cookies, pixels and other technologies may change over time. Please also note that companies and other organisations that sponsor pages on our website may use cookies, pixels or other technologies on their pages to learn about your interest in them.

Controlling cookies

Most browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings preferences. However, if you limit the ability of websites to set cookies, you may worsen your overall user experience, since it will no longer be personalized to you. It may also stop you from saving customized settings like login information.

What to do if you don't want cookies to be set or want them to be removed?

If you don't want us to use cookies when you visit our site, you can opt-out of some cookies on your settings page. Most browsers also provide functionality that lets you review and erase cookies. Please note that our website will not work properly without cookies.

To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit wikipedia.org, www.allaboutcookies.org, or www.aboutcookies.org.

Other helpful resources

To learn more about advertisers' use of cookies the following links are helpful:

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For other browsers, please consult the documentation that your browser manufacturer provides.